A Hunter of Highs
by Artymoose420
Summary: Most hunters have some levels of self-respect, but Artimus has none. He will face many trials, all while feeling the rush of combat and some chemical substances. Can he truly be Moga Village's hero? Can he defeat Ceadeus? Can he stay sober for a day in his life? Find out in "A Hunter of Highs"!
1. Chapter 1

This story was slightly based on true virtual events.

"There are no continues left my friend"... These words pierced this poor, weak, fragile mind until the very end of its existence. These words were heard by this pitiful mind, but never truly understood. For he, the one who this pathetic mind belongs to, can't think of any deeper meanings in life. The phrase continued to echo in the backgroud, while darkness swarmed around its very being. Suddenly, a fleeting light was now in grasping reach. With what's left of the power this mind had, it reached out into consciousness.

His eyes, encrusted from a long sleep, opened. He repeated to himself "there are no continues left..." Artimus pushed off the covers that enveloped him with a warmth. There was a faint sound of water as he rose out from his slumber. The water grew louder until it sounded to be in the same room. Yes, the sound was in the same room, for he was not on land, or in a completely sealed off room, he was in a rather make-shift hut. Fish nets could be seen around his bend, and we're strewn across the walls like curtains on a window. The hut seemed to look like a square, run-down shack with around ten feet of room for each side, and ten feet of room from the floor the ceiling. Every last wooden board was uneven, from the ceiling to the floor, and the boards rarely looked completely straight. This hut had a wooden floor with a three-inch gap between the boards, revealing the glowing, bright blue sea beneath him. These boards were kept afloat with some large, durable, brown, leather balls filled with air. These balls were kept in place with a generous amount of rope tying them to these spaced boards. His bed was pushed up against the wall left to his hut's entrance. This wall behind his unkept bed was broken at the bottom, with floor boards that ceased expansion just beyond the break in the wall, leaving so much room open that someone could crawl through and fall into the blue below. A large, metal blue box could be seen opposite side of the entrace, with light-blue markings decorating the box. Aside from this box, there was a somewhat small table at the foot of his bed, with a shoddy chair tucked in beneath the table. Three bottles could be seen on this table, all with unfamiliar markings.

Once Artimus was on his feet in this wooden shack afloat the glowing water, he realized something was off. Everything on this shack shook violently, with a hellish noise erupting from the watery depths below. Artimus was tired and sea-sick from the trip to this community on the water, and he felt no enjoyment from the shaking shack. The bottles on the table at the foot of his bed shook violently, and began to fall off the table. With the speed of cocroach evading a flame to a hairspray can, Artimus leaped to save the bottles from reaching the shoddy floor beneath. But it was all in vain, for Artimus miscalculated his distance, and one bottle opened and spilled its clear contents into the water. Artimus plucked the half-full bottle and began to drink. "Thank Christ, a drink worth drinking" he thought. The clear fluid had a punch like an alcoholic father to his soft child. This taste was home to the pathetic mind of Artimus.


	2. Chapter 2

The shaking had ceased, the bottles remained motionless, and Artimus had finally felt the buzz he was looking for since he arrived. A smile spread across his face. Artimus, walking with some balance, made his way to the exit from the shoddy little hut he will call home, for now. Light from the sun pierced his eyes, forcing his hand to stop the assault. He was now within full view and could be seen clearly. He was slightly tan, was somewhat thin, but fit, had dark brown hair, tight shorts, a tight shirt, had a handsome steep jawline, and a permanent cocky expression.

After his vision adjusted to the new bright light, he was out in Moga Village, in front of his hut. Moga looked just like the hut, boards of wood with much room in between, many balls of air tied around the boards, and fish nets everywhere. Moga spread into a radial shape, with docks on one end along with the fishermen, shoddy wooden stairs that led to some rocky land to the right of the docks, a pathway to the land beside Moga to the right of the stairs, a short, stubby, old smithy's forge beside the path, and a crowd of people surrounding something Artimus couldn't see.

There was a peculiar, angry and distressed commotion coming from the crowd. Everyone was talking and some yelling "Why is this still happening!?", "My business will sink if this keeps going on!", "Is there nothing you can do!?", and the like. Curious, Artimus pressed forth to the crowd, an tried to make his way to the center to see what everyone was yelling at. Sliding his way passed people, he noted how upset and sad they were, this was not the first quake to have happened in Moga. Two women were between Artimus and the target of the outrage, with a mighty shove, Artimus finally saw who they were voicing their anger towards.

A very tan man, white hair from old age, shirtless with a slight potbelly, wore a wrapping around his waist to his knees, was smoking a pipe on top of a wooden stool. He had a calm expression, this was not his first rodeo with an angry crowd. He looked at Artimus and smiled, he raised from his seat and waved his hand to stop the commotion. Facing the crowd he said "I know you have felt these troubles, as have I. But we do not need to fear of these quakes for much longer. I'm certain they will stop soon, and the source be silenced." He turned toward Artimus "Everyone, look here. This is the hunter of Moga Village, and he will put an end to our sorrows!"

Artimus was a hunter contracted by this tan old man, the village chief. Artimus had little experience as a hunter, but he did his best to complete a task once he felt it needed done. This dedication to a cause is what landed him on the chief's eyes, thus he sailed with a fishing crew to Moga Village. The chief knew their cause to stop these quakes was just, for the sake of the village and its people.

The crowd turned to Artimus. The crowd smiled and cheered at the sight of this man. Finally, the means to the end of their sorrows, their prayers had been answered.


	3. Chapter 3

Their prayers were indeed answered, for better or for worse.

There were a few cheers and a few questions for Artimus, but once the rave of villagers died down, they returned to their business. Artimus felt his shameless ego bursting with confidence, possibly due to the buzz he had. Artimus approached the village chief and asked what he had to do. The chief told him of a fierce beast called the Lagiacrus. It's not the size of the beast that made it a menace, but rather it's capabilities. The Lagiacrus could produce such fierce amounts of electricity that it could turn every last LGBT person straight in an instant. The village chief told him that he'd have to reach this beast slowly but surely, and that he'd have to start with some easier quests. The village chief pointed to a counter about twenty feet to his right, this is where Artimus could dine and accept quests.

As he approached the counter, one female shape could made out once he got close enough. The girl was dressed in a white shirt with black sleeves and red suspenders holding her red skirt. She had a young jubilant face, with two locks of black hair on both sides of her face and a red hat. An upright-standing cat jumped up by her side, this was the chef of the village. Artimus, stumbling slightly from his buzz, didn't hesitate to make a move on this cute new girl. He started with the trite pick-up line of "Hey girl, I'm no weatherman, but you can expect a few inches tonight" with that stupid smug face of his. She gave him a confused look before looking out in the distance, replying "I don't think so, it seems pretty clear to me" with an innocent smile. "Come on girl, you gotta know what I'm talking about" said Artimus with that shit-eating grin. "No, I really don't. The sky looks completely clear to me" she said assuredly. Artimus, facepalming, knew that his tactics weren't working, he had to get creative to score with this girl. He then tried "are you a sea lion? Cause' I can see you lion in my bed tonight." She looked at him concerned, "you have sea lions in your bed?" Artimus almost had enough of being suggestive, he knew he had to be a little bit more blunt. He finally tried "fuck me if I'm wrong, but dinos aren't around anymore, right?" as his final effort. The girl quickly replied "there are plenty of dinosaurs around, haven't you ever hunted before? There are loads of em!" And with this failed attempt, Artimus gave up, for now. Artimus swore to himself that he will one day wreck this girl as much as he did himself.

Artimus knew, that to fill the void of rejection, stress-eating and getting smashed usually patched things up. He turned to the pussy on his right, asking the cat "you're the cook right? Give me the best shit on the menu!" With a slight bow, the cat left the station and went towards the back, leaving sight. After a rather brief moment, the cook returned with an overly-full plate of meat and rice with a big mug of the strongest drink in Moga. The rice itself look delicious with a slight golden brown tint from being fried just right, but the meat looked like someone made the best roast possible and decided to throw a few razor blades in the meat to fuck with the customer, it had many sharp thorns sticking out. Artimus felt his buzz waning, he had to restore his numbness first and foremost. He took the mug and began to chug, it indeed had a punch, but it felt more of like a hard slap on the face rather than a pure ass-beating. Alcohol was alcohol, so Artimus kept chugging. He could feel it, he could feel the buzz he wanted, he only wished that this would last longer than the previous bottles. With his numbness restored, he stuffed his face full of rice and meat, disregarding the stabs from the meat. After a brief moment, his meal was finished, the chef put his right paw out for pay. This was a worthy meal worth paying for, Artimus threw what he had out of his pocket to the cat and got up. A shower of money rained on the cat, Artimus, being the dumb fucker he was, threw out his entire wallet, plenty more than what was needed to pay for the meal.


	4. Chapter 4

Penniless and witless, Artimus attempted to return to the counter of the girl, but fell down shortly after stumbling towards her. The alcohol burdened his consciousness, everything began to fade into black.  
He fell into a deep sleep, and occasionally shifting upon the planks beneath him. After what seemed like 20 minutes of some peace and quiet, Artimus quickly sat up, screaming "YOU CAN'T SMOKE THAT!" in an increadibly worried tone, like he was warning someone. The villagers, needless to say, were unsettled by this new wave behavior radiating from this shameless creature, he managed to show up to the village chief drunk on their first meeting, hit on the Moga quest giver, go broke after paying for a meal, and fucking black out in the first few hours of this day. The villagers still had hopes that this behavior would die off, which it might for a few hours.  
When Artimus woke up screaming, it was still midday, and the girl at the counter looked somewhat concerned. Artimues' buzz had worn off, the unbearable sting of responsibility came to him. Artimus returned to the quest table with a terrible headache and nauseous stomach, when he reach the counter the girl asked "You sure did eat well, ready for a quest?" with a sweet smile and excited tone. Artimus replied "sure, give me whatever you have" whilst holding his head to stop the throbbing pain. She handed him a list of quests with descriptions as to why they need to be done. Artimus was in no state to use his barely literate mind to decipher the moving symbols on the paper. Artimus pointed randomly to one of the quests labeled "Harvest 'Shroom", a quest to deliver three unique mushrooms. The girl said "mushroom hunting are we? This she be a piece of cake for you!". She paused briefly, saying "all we need to get you started for this quest is a small fee" with a cheery smile. Artimus reached into his pocket, but it was this point at which he realized he was broke, he must to get enough to pay for the fee and accept the quest.


	5. Chapter 5

This was far too much unforeseen stress for Artimus. He felt a longing for some fresh air away from the sea, he decided to go to the woods of Moga. Before leaving he took the switch axe from the chest in his abode. The metsl axe could morph into a large sword when need, and rather hefty. With the axe in place on his back, Artimus started outwards into the Moga outback.  
Passing through a large gate and into the area, he found himself to be at the top of a large, steep hill, with a river flowing at the bottom. There was only a single tree atop the hill, with a small herd of khelbi beneath it. Artimus was aware that powdered khelbi horns had medicinal properties, he pulled out his axe.  
As he sluggishly made his way towards the herd of 3 khelbi, they scattered in different directions. Artimus had no hope of keeping up with his axe out in hand, but he had no hope keeping up anyway, so he didn't sheathe it. By mere chance a khelbi ran towards him, Artimus pulled up the axe and chopped it directly onto the poor creature's head. Blood gushed from the wound, the khelbi fell down, and Artimus took his knife and hewed off a horn. Immediately after carving the creature, it sprang up, this khelbi could withstand anything. It ran away into the distance leaving Artimus with the horn.  
Artimus placed his axe flatly on the ground, it now served as a large metal plate. Artimus placed the horn onto the plate, and began to bash it into a fine powder with the hilt of the knife. After the entire horn was dust, it was as though instinct had taken control. A surge of lust for excitement filled him. He took his knife and parted out lines of the khelbi horn powder. Placing his face just above the axe plate, blocking one nostril, Artimus snorted the substance with all his might. Artimus recoiled once the pain hit him, curving his spine unnaturally. A loud cry of agony rattled the village and the entirety of the Moga woods.  
"It's so good!" Cried Artimus with a cheery smile, his stomach no longer felt nausea. Artimus' headache had even cleared up, Artimus was now feeling ready to take on anything that was to come his. Unfortunately, money is one thing that Artimus never had the proper knowledge of managing. The task ahead was to collect cash, and there are plenty of nice plants to pick and pelts to collect.


	6. Chapter 6

Artimus still didn't have the means to pay for the mushroom quest yet. After a few more snorts of the blood-stained khelbi horn powder, Artimus took a branching pathway that lead deeper into the woods.

An excitement filled Artimus, he was ready to hunt something larger than any of the small monsters in the area. Unfortunately, small monsters were the only current things residing in the woods of Moga. Artimus came into an area with a small stream, the openings of two caves some distance apart from each other, a path leading to a new area, and some cats.

Those pussies immediately beckoned Artimus' easily divided attention. Pulling it out, Artimus once again sluggishly made his way to the white felynes. When he was within range, Artimus performed the same large downward chop attack one of the cats. A spurt of blood came out, and the cat was somehow thrown into the air and landed on its back. Artimus thought the deed was done, but this pussy could take a pounding. The cat got up, and from the cosmic rift that was just beneath the grass, the cat yanked out a barrel. The barrel was strangely ignited at the top, and the felyne began towards Artimus with the bomb rested upon its shoulders. Artimus' slow reaction time led him to this situation, a suicidal cat with a bomb that was about to blow them both to burning coals of Hades. He slowly sheathed his the axe he had pulled out, and started in the opposite direction - but it was too late. The bomb detonated right beside Artimus. Bracing for impact by going into a standing fetal position, "this power!" Artimus yelled in awe and fear. A fiery and concussive burst erupted from the barrel, dealing heavy damage to Artimus' body. The bomb sent Artimus twisting into the air and threw him a distance of about 6 meters directly into a cave with an overhang of moss on its entrance.

Artimus tumbled down the cave's slope, stopping some distance in. Everything went too fast for Artimus' weakened mind to process. Picking himself up from the dirt, Artimus returned to a standing position. Artimus now had taken quite a reaming, and needed to recuperate. With Artimus still trying to come to terms with the first pussy to reject him via suicide bombing, he observed the features of the open and spacious cave. This shady cave had a lake leading to the large ocean outside, it had a separate pathway, leading up into new territory outdoors, and a way to go deeper into the cave. Artimus had an internal calling, a beckoning towards the recesses of the large, damp, cool, shaded cavern. Artimus didn't rush towards the new area due to his injuries. The pain that had grasped him on this single trip had made Artimus long for his cozy room. There wasn't any booze to drown out his pain in this lonely cavern, the pitiful creature longed for the remedies found in civilization.

The new area inside the cave Artimus had reached was not what he expected. This cave was also large, had a massive boulder in its center, an exit to the outdoors on the opposite side to Artimus, and a small, insignificant entrance to another part of the cave. Artimus' weak senses failed to warn him of the danger that lurked within this cave. High-pitched calls rang out from all directions, Artimus now realized that he may have fucked up. From behind the massive boulder that lay just before Artimus' feet, a small, orange and purple bipedal dinosaur came into sight. Staring at Artimus with its red eyes, the jaggi began its charge towards Artimus. Artimus instinctually pulled out his axe and slashed it with a chop from the side. The creature was thrown into the air, landed on its side with an audible thump, and released its dying breath. Artimus basked in his victory against a similarly pitiful, small, weak and ballsy creature. The hunt was not over, and those cries still rang. A noise came from behind Artimus, and before he could turn to see it, a tail from another jaggi smacked Artimus directly on his skull, and knocked his dick into the dirt. Artimus was out cold, and that tail attack was the end of his journey into this cave.

Artimus was slightly conscious and fully healed, with his face in the floor of the cart and his ass in the air. Audible meowing could be heard from struggling felynes. The cats stopped in front of a tent structure, and rudely kicked his ass from the cart and onto the dirt. Artimus rolled onto his back, staring blankly at the enormous stone overhang above him. "Fuck my life" he said, and decided that he would return to moga.


	7. Chapter 7

Once Artimus had finally arrived at his home in Moga, the dangers of sobriety could not grasp him. Artimus, inside his hut and ready to get fucked up, needed relief from such a stressful day out in the field. Artimus searched his home for a bottle, and only came upon a single one. Breaking the bottle top upon his small table, he quickly brought the bottle back up for a good swig. The punch was weaker than than usual, but could still snap Tom Staniford in two. It only took him a mere 20 seconds to finish this bottle, his second best at a bottle of this size. Though it was minor, the buzz grew within him. Artimus tossed the bottle into the opening in his room, into the sea. The bottle sank deeper into the sea, and Artimus, for the first time, began to think.

What you may not have known, was that Artimus was a good swimmer, and could hold his breath for around 5 minutes underwater while doing any action and under any pressure. Throughout his youth, he spent time in the water, and built a reputation within his home. His family, blank faces that he can no longer recognize, cherished him and told him how talented he was, "a one of a kind." Throughout his schooling, Artimus pondered his ability, asking himself as to how he can perform such a feat and still have enough energy in his blood to keep up with everything he did underwater. His school taught him that air had an effect on everything he does, the more he expended energy, the more air he needs. Artimus had a regular cardio and lung capacity for his age, so this peculiarity piqued his interest. As a partial specialist in the field of anatomy and physiology, Artimus knew he had a gift, and planned to be a marine biologist who went out into waters without equipment to study the wildlife. He was such an insightful creature, testing his hypotheses and sharing his results. What could have caused such degradation and retardation? How did he fall from grace faster than the time it takes for women to get uncomfortable around him?

Artimus, before arriving to Moga was aware of another place where he could go to hunt, and it could have multiple hunters. A foursome is just what this he wanted. After daydreaming of the bottle drowned in the blue of the sea, Artimus set out of his hut and into Moga Village yet again.

The villagers were still skeptical and hopeful that Artimus would eventually do something to aid them with their troubles. "Their troubles could wait, I have my own problems to deal with" the despicable asshole thought to himself. This fucker then proceeded to the ship that had a cat on a barrel beside its walkway. This pussy was far from ordinary, it had a head of brown hair with a short ponytail over it's blonde fur, was clothed in garments that exposed its furry chest, had a fish-bone necklace, and carried a fine sword and sheath on its back. This was no pussy, it was Neko (also Means "Cat"). Neko initiated the conversation when the mistake of a hunter was in front of him "Salutations, good hunter! I'm Neko (Means "Cat"), I could take care of your farming needs and purrvide the purrfect sail ride to the tavern!" This made Artimus grin, he was right about this mythical place where he could hunt and get hammered with some company. "Alright, bro, take me to the tavern where I can get some good shit to drink!" Neko nodded excitedly with a twinkle in his eye, and gestured for Artimus to get into the ship. Artimus climbed onto the ship, and sat on a barrel on the side just behind the railing. The ship had set sail away from Moga, and Artimus stared into the blue of the ocean. As the selfish asshole departed, thoughts could not escape him.

Vague figures and images appeared in Artimus' mind, people he could recognize by clothes and stature, but not by face or name. A fragment of his former life may have been coming to him, whether he realized it or not. He tried his best to put a face upon the figures, but nothing worked. They felt familiar yet so unknown to him. Just where did Artimus come from? Did he have parents, or was he adopted? Artimus didn't know the answer to either of the questions. He dwelled on this for what seemed like minutes upon the ship, but before he could even reimagine his possible home or family, Neko (it Means "Cat", goddammit) shouted "We're here, hunter!"

Artimus climbed out of the ship, and his first sight upon getting on land was of a tent to his left, a woman in front of him with a backpack at least five times here size strapped to her, and a smithy behind her, down a few steps of stairs. Artimus walked forward, noticing a wooden walkway to his left. This was another town of an island. All the land was concrete or wood, and had a stable foundation unlike Moga. Artimus walked across the walkway that led directly to the tavern he had heard so much about.

Upon his entry, there was a kitchen to his left with four stone stools for seats, a barrel in the middle of the area, a shopkeeper to the right of him, and the quest counter behind the shopkeeper. Across from where he stood was the area for department on quests, with boats lined up for sail. Aside from the kitchen cooks, shopkeep, and quest givers, the place had no life, except for one hunter sitting at one of the stools. Clad in Jaggi armor with a helmet that covered his face from the sides, and small jaggi sword strapped to his back, just at his waistline. The hunter had his back turned toward Artimus.


End file.
